Munhumutape African Broadcasting Corporation television (MABC) TV has recently been issued a further extension to commence its subscription satellite broadcasting services by the National Broadcasting Board (NBB).The television corporation was set to air in Botswana by December 2008 after being granted an extension of 6 months.
The company was first licensed for broadcasting on the 18th of December 2007.
The NBB has granted licenses to only two locally based broadcasting services, MABC TV and BEST TV
The Chairman of the NBB, Masego Mpotokwane, said that the board saw it
useful that they closely monitor the MABC situation very closely to
ensure that broadcasting starts on the said date.
We can not reveal the reasons as to why MABC TV has asked for further
extensions because we don't think it's in the interest of the public
for us to reveal the reasons given by MABC TV, said Mpotokwane.
They are a business venture so revealing their reasons to the public
would be placing them at a disadvantage with their competitors, said
Mpotokwane.
Mpotokwane affirms, however, that the board had certain limitations as to how many times a company can be handed extensions.
Meanwhile Oscar Kubara, Managing Director of MABC TV, recently revealed
to the Sunday Standard how his corporation had been deeply affected by
the global financial crisis.
Like I said before, our sponsors are based overseas where the
financial crisis has hit most; this has obviously affected the
broadcasting of our services to Botswana, said Kubara.
He pointed out the liquidation of GTV as an example of how the international crisis had affected the television business.
GTV has gone under, but we are positive that we will air by June 2009
because we had alternative strategies put in place to fight against the
global crisis, I am very confident that we will be broadcasting by
then, said Kubara.
Amid pomp and fanfare last year, Kubara announced that MABC TV would be
sponsoring the Botswana Premier Soccer League to the tune of P 65
million.
The company then failed to provide the sponsorship of the league,
claiming continuous payment delays until the new cellphone company, Be
Mobile stepped in and saved the league.
Kubara would not name the overseas sponsors he claimed were sponsoring them.
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